Soba noodles

[Home chef]

I'm having a hard time finding those HUGE asian noodles. I think they're called Soba noodles. They're like 1/4" thick and about as long as spaghetti noodles. The nearest asian market is like 20 miles from here in ChinaTown in Chicago. It would take me over an hour just to get there then pay to park. Does anyone have any ideas? Perhaps a web site? Anything??

[urmaniac13]

Your description sounds like a little thick for being soba. Is it brown or white? If it is brown that's soba (made of buckwheat), if it is white and thicker than spaghetti, that's udon. I found this site, it's a bit intimidating as there are many Japanese writing, but if you know what you are looking for you should be okay, as there are images of products, too... I hope you will find what you are looking for!!

http://japanesefood.about.com/gi/dyn...2Findex_e.html

You can then go to the noodles and soup section...

[Home chef]

That's it. Udon noodles. Thanks a ton!

[urmaniac13]

Your welcome!! If you have looked at the page I directed to you, and you are interested in ordering something, avoid anything like the second one listed in the Udon section (even if it's on sale... maybe it is for a reason!!)... they take less time cooking but have horrid gummy texture... you are much better off with the dried versions... the last one in the udon list "kishimen" is a different version of udon, they are flat like tagliatelle/linguini.
And probably it is safer, unless you have some exact idea about what to do with the noodles, to order the broth (tsuyu) along with the noodles... Good luck with your Udon Quest!!

[Home chef]

I planned on using them in a stir fry. I just got an outdoor wok and burner. I fired it up today and it really gets hot! I cook a lot of stir fry in the house but even my highest output burner just doesn't get hot enough to really sear the veggies and meats the way a good restaurant does. Plus, when I make stir fry I tend to go overboard and make enough for a small army. I have lots of stir fry parties with 10 to 20 guests at a time. I'm just anxious to try a new noodle instead of rice or linguini.

[zelichan]

Try this link:
www.asianfoodgrocer.com

[urmaniac13]

Originally Posted by Home chef

I planned on using them in a stir fry. I just got an outdoor wok and burner. I fired it up today and it really gets hot! I cook a lot of stir fry in the house but even my highest output burner just doesn't get hot enough to really sear the veggies and meats the way a good restaurant does. Plus, when I make stir fry I tend to go overboard and make enough for a small army. I have lots of stir fry parties with 10 to 20 guests at a time. I'm just anxious to try a new noodle instead of rice or linguini.

I am not sure, to be honest, udon will go over well for stir fries... they are almost exclusively eaten with broth, as far as I know... Thinner, firmer noodles are better fit for this purpose, and udons are on the soft side. If you are looking for something different, have you tried rice sticks(noodles)? They are also oriental (though I am not sure exactly from where), very thin like angel hair and semi transparent, they are brilliant and absolutely delicious for stir fries, and I think they are more readily available than udons!!

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by urmaniac13

I am not sure, to be honest, udon will go over well for stir fries... they are almost exclusively eaten with broth, as far as I know... Thinner, firmer noodles are better fit for this purpose, and udons are on the soft side. If you are looking for something different, have you tried rice sticks(noodles)? They are also oriental (though I am not sure exactly from where), very thin like angel hair and semi transparent, they are brilliant and absolutely delicious for stir fries, and I think they are more readily available than udons!!

Udon is used a lot in fried noodle dishes. Most Japanese noodle shops should do a yakisoba style dish using udon. The Chinese also use their version of udon. There's a really good dish called Shanghai-style Fried Noodles that's available in some Chinese restaurants.

Rice noodles are more Thai or Vietnamese (you would use it for Pad Thai). The common name for it is "Ban Pho" in the stores.